Two weeks after Rep. Ed Markey won the special U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts, the race to succeed him in the House has begun.
Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, the Democrat long considered the front-runner to take the 5th District seat Markey first won in 1976, made his candidacy official last week and made it clear that he was taking a page from the newly elected senator's book.
Just as Markey proudly spoke of his decades in public office when criticized as a "career politician" by Republican opponent and first-time candidate Gabriel Gomez, Koutoujian spoke of a "longtime record of taking action and delivering results for constituents" as a state legislator for ten years and then as sheriff.
At least a half-dozen other Democrats are expected to join the all-important Democratic primary to succeed Markey. No date has yet been set for the primary or the special election.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax.
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